While Kai Edwards parents, Tony Edwards and Kristina Wilson, will watch their son compete at the Olympics in the sunny Gold Coast, a host of his immediate family will cheer him on from Ballarat in what is forecast to be a rainy, miserable day.
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The 22-year-old will compete in the men's 10km open swim on Thursday from 7:30am AEST, following a turbulent run into the Games.
His mother, Kristina, a Ballarat High School alumni, told The Courier it hasn't been an easy road to Tokyo.
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After originally missing qualification for the 2020 Olympics, he received a second chance at qualifying due to the postponement of the Games.
He and Nick Slowman finished first and second respectively in the Australian 10km championship in January, qualifying them to competed in Setubal, Portugal on June 21.
The equation was simple; finish top nine overall and beat Slowman and an Olympic debut was his.
He did just that, finishing fifth overall and beating Slowman, who finished 15th.
Edwards wasn't able to return to Australia due to the COVID-19 situation at the time, so he and his coach were forced to fly to Spain where they trained for seven weeks.
They were isolated and away from the rest of the Australian swimming team, Wilson said, who were based in Cairns.
She said it wasn't easy for Edwards.
"Really tough, training by yourself, just really hard," she said.
"No one to push you except yourself and obviously his coach."
He arrived in Tokyo on July 28 and his family can't wait to see him compete.
"It's been a long time coming," Wilson said.
"There's four boys actually that excel at open water for Australia so it was pretty tough to make that one position.
"We're extremely proud and just can't wait for the race."
Edwards' grandparents, Graeme and Glenda, will be watching the race from Ballarat as will a host of cousins, aunties and uncles.
Tony, his father, will be in the Gold Coast but has a strong Ballarat connection, a St Patrick's College old collegian.
"I think he's ranked 14th out of 25," Wilson said.
"It's anyone's race. Where it is, there's no advantage, there'll be no waves, it'll be pretty flat, so it's really going to come down to the strongest, the fittest and the fastest.
"There's a lot of big boys in there."
Edwards, alongside Kareena Lee, will become just the third pair to compete for Australia in the marathon swimming event.
Ollie Nash
A keen sports follower covering the Central Highlands Football and Netball League's and the wider sports scene in Ballarat. Get in touch at ollie.nash@thecourier.com.au.
A keen sports follower covering the Central Highlands Football and Netball League's and the wider sports scene in Ballarat. Get in touch at ollie.nash@thecourier.com.au.
